October 20, 2014
He Maimai Aroha: Rahera Barrett-Douglas
The first woman to chair a tribal trust board has joined her ancestors.
Rahera Barrett-Douglas of Ngati Maniapoto died on Sunday after a long illness. She was 74.
She started her working life in Wellington as a tolls operator before training as a kindergarten teacher.
She went on to earn bachelors and masters degrees in social science.
Mrs Barrett-Douglas worked for the Department of Education and for the Waikato University’s early childhood education department.
She is a founding member of Ngahihi Incorporated, a capacity-building organisation for Maori working in ECE.
She was also active in the Maori Women’s Welfare League and elected chair of the Ngati Maniapoto Trust Board in the 1990s, eventually serving three terms.
Her funeral is this morning at Tokikapu Marae in Waitomo.
Rahera Barrett-Douglas is survived by her husband Te Kohu Douglas and sons Peter and Tutahanga.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com